Clarice P. Ingraham

Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the Bahamas Clarice P. Ingraham

In her work as a community health nurse, Clarice Ingraham has discovered that traditionally, Bahamian woman play a major role in the country's society, as do women in all developing countries. The nation is both family-orientated and tourism-dependent. Women are housekeepers and often the sole bread winners in their families. They often work in the hotel industries that comprise about 75 percent of the workforce. Maternal morbidity refers to the rate of incidence of disease, whereas the mortality rate records the instances of death in the Bahamas. Maternal and infant mortality are basic indicators of a nation's health status. If maternal morbidity and mortality continue to occur in the Bahamas at the present rates, they will directly affect the rates of infant mortality and morbidity. In developing countries, if women continue to be affected by pregnancy-related conditions, childbearing, and the puerperium (the four-week period following childbirth), and are therefore unable to work, the economy, the home, and the nation will suffer. The purpose of the research presented in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the Bahamas is to determine why maternal morbidity is at such an unacceptable level. The study examines the existing protocols, their effectiveness, and the extent to which they are followed; it concludes with the recommendations to ensure the provision of quality health care for all.